Corruption curbed, revenue has got a boost in Uttarakhand: CM
Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said on Sunday that the BJP government gave a major push to development in Uttarakhand besides initiating steps to curb corruption, which helped augment revenue
Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said on Sunday that the BJP government gave a major push to development in Uttarakhand besides initiating steps to curb corruption, which helped augment revenue.
“I can say with full confidence that we have been able to put a strong check on institutionalised corruption…We are now moving ahead to achieve our goal to free the state of corruption,” Rawat said, addressing a public meeting at Parade Ground here to mark the completion of his first year in office.
“When our government completed six months, I had promised you that we will give a corruption-free administration. Today, the corrupt elements are so scared that they are literally scurrying for cover.”
Elaborating on the onslaught against the corrupt, Rawat said around 20 officials, involved in the multi-crore fraud relating to the acquisition of farmlands for construction of the National Highway 74, had been jailed.
“These officials illegally paid 20 times more monetary compensation to farmers than what was due in lieu of acquiring their land for the national highway,” Rawat said, adding that he had ordered constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Rs 300-crore NH scam within a week of assuming charge.
“I took that decision literally at the stroke of midnight…I also referred the issue to the Centre for a CBI probe but finally decided to order a SIT investigation,” Rawat said, complimenting the police for taking the probe to its logical conclusion.
“The police deserve full commendation because they conducted the probe in a manner that officials found guilty in the NH scam have failed to get a relief despite making rounds of courts,” he said. “They (police) also exposed the goons involved in a kidney scam, who were wanted in four states.”
Listing his efforts to ensure fast delivery of services, Rawat said he was monitoring governance “right from the secretariat up to the block level” through the CM Dashboard. The biometric attendance system had also been introduced in all offices across the state to ensure 100% attendance of officials. “It will create a work culture in the state giving a boost to fast-paced delivery,” he said.
The financial discipline introduced by the BJP government helped augment the state’s dwindling receipts in the past one year, he said. “The power department, for example, recorded Rs 200 crore revenue increase during the 2017-18 fiscal compared to the last.”
The transport department recorded Rs 140 crore revenue increase in that period whereas the revenue gains of the mining department shot up by a whopping 80%, he said.
Referring to the government’s move to “double the farm economy,” Rawat said loans up to Rs 600 crore had been distributed among about 1.25 crore marginalised farmers.
“These loans were distributed among them at minimum 2% interest rates,” he said, adding the step was among a series of measures being taken by the government to help poor farmers augment their income. “Popularising cluster farming among farmers to enhance their income was one of those initiatives,” Rawat said.
The Rural Development and Migration Commission had been constituted so that problems in farm and health sectors, causing forced migration from the hills, could be addressed. “Similarly, the government’s move to develop one destination each in all the 13 districts was aimed to boost the tourism sector.”